I’ve posted before about Dr. Chuck Stecker, a good friend of mine who has a ministry called A Chosen Generation. It specializes in helping churches develop intergenerational ministries. Churches tend to silo their ministries, dividing them up into children, youth, young adults, men, women, etc. A Chosen Generation shows churches how to integrate those ministries.
This past Monday I came across a secular organization that made me think of Chuck Stecker. The organization is called Raising Men Lawn Care Service. Here’s how they state their mission:
Raising Men Lawn Care Service is the union of an ordinary yard maintenance service and the commitment to establish an inspiring program to keep our youth (girls & boys) on a positive path while learning and understanding their value in society. RMLS provides free lawn care to our elders, those who are disabled, single mothers and our veterans, who do not have the time, resources and/or money to manicure their yards.
What I really like about this organization is how they set goals for boys to achieve in the form of the number of lawns they mow for free.
When your child joins the program, they start off with a white shirt . We have it set up similar to the karate system. For every 10 lawns cut, they get a new color shirt. Once they cut 10 lawns, they get an orange shirt; 20 lawns earns a green shirt; 30 lawns earns a blue shirt; 40 lawns earn a red shirt, and 50 lawns earn a black shirt. Once they reach 50, they become a lot like a black belt at mowing lawns. †
This is a great idea that any church can adapt and use to help boys “reject passivity.” I hope you check out their website.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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One thought on “A Great Idea for an Intergenerational Men Mentoring Boys Ministry”
Great article and good reminder Herb! We had several teens come with their fathers to NCMM at Cedar Run. It was a great time to see and be a part of men discussing scripture, praying for our women, serving our women and laughing a lot in the process.